FOLLOW THE LEADER
FURTHER QUOTATIONS ON
LEADERS AS PRECIPITATORS
- CHANGE:
- ...the initiation of change within an organization is the most
challenging of all organizational tasks and rarely occurs
without strong pressure outside the organization.^17
- A leader must initiate. Some leaders are more gifted at
conserving gains than starting new ventures, for maintaining
order than generating ardor. The true leader must be
venturesome as well as visionary. He must be ready to jump
start as well as hold speed. Paul constantly took calculated
risks, always carefully and with much prayer, but always
reaching for what lay beyond.^18
- The leader must either initiate plans for progress or recognize
the worthy plans of others. He must remain in front, giving
guidance and direction to those behind. He does not wait for
things to happen, but makes them happen. He is a self-starter,
always on the lookout for improved methods, eager to test new
ideas.^19 (Sanders, p. 127)
- Managing change is important. Without competent
management, the transformation process can get out of
control. But for most organizations, the much bigger challenge
is leading change. Only leadership can blast through the many
sources of corporate inertia. Only leadership can motivate the
actions needed to alter behavior in any significant way.^20
- Visible crises can be enormously helpful in catching people’s
attention and pushing up urgency levels. Conducting business
as usual is very difficult if the building seems to be on fire!^21
- Little by little, preoccupation with method, technique and
procedure gains a subtle dominance over the whole process of
goal seeking. How it is done becomes more important than
whether it is done. Means triumph over ends. Form triumphs
over spirit. Method is enthroned. Men become prisoners of
